The Song of the Swans
by DriftingDreamer18
Summary: "Woman is the salvation or the destruction of the family. She carries its destiny in the folds of her mantle." - The Women of the Swan Family were no exception and when their decisions go awry, bonds are shattered, worlds are broken and blood is spilled.


**The Song of the Swans**

**Book I - Lullaby  
**

Preface

* * *

_The silver swan, who living had no note,_  
_ When death approach'd, unlock'd her silent throat;_  
_ Leaning her breast against the reedy shore,_  
_ Thus sung her first and last, and sung no more._  
_ Farewell, all joys; O Death, come close mine eyes;_  
_ More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise._

**The Silver Swan, Orlando Gibbons  
**

* * *

**September 4****th**** 1937**

The light drizzle of silvery rain speckled the cream-coloured slabs and dulled the immaculate canopy into sullen shades of ashen grey. It trickled in icy rivulets down the rose-twined pillars and bled through the saturated material, showering those below in a cold clammy haze.

Not that it dampened any spirits. It was well after midnight, the glass had been broken hours ago, and yet still the festivities endured, with even the bride permitting her porcelain wedding gown to be freckled with pale spots. The music kept playing, the couples kept dancing, though the movements were sluggish with the weight of wine. Lively children darted nimbly between the revolving pairs, all honey-coloured hair and high-lilted laughter.

Sulpicia observed the scene quietly from the sidelines, watching with interest as a golden-haired youth attempted to coax a retiring brunette onto the dance floor. She considered it to be a well-matched skirmish, for his charm almost eclipsed the obstinacy of his intended, however Sulpicia knew that victory would be a double-edged sword for not even his charm could cure and overwhelm blunt clumsiness and sheer ineptitude.

In the end it was inevitable. Feet moved for a while at an awkward tempo, quivering nervously in two-inch heels and then, after a particularly dramatic spin, there was a sudden squeal and an abrupt plunge that left them both rolling on the floor.

The commotion provided much entertainment for onlookers, inspiring a surge of chuckles and chortles from the guests. It even caused one pretty honey-haired infant to clap her hands enthusiastically and beg for a repeat performance.

Sulpicia watched sister's face turn a splendid shade of scarlet as she staggered away from the floor, modest in her mortification. Her dance partner on the other hand laughed the loudest as he picked himself up, mimicking the fall again for the pleasure of the little girl, who dressed all in ivory lace and ruffles, could have passed for an angel.

With that thought still swimming around in the murky recesses of her mind, Sulpicia drained her glass of wine and abandoned it on the nearest table. She'd experience enough excitement for one night and she doubted her presence would be missed. Parting the soppy wet material, she slid out into the night, feet running across the soaking lawn.

Laughter chased her up the dusty gazebo steps and continued to stalk her through the patio door. Her arms and legs felt strangely heavy, _probably the wine, _she told herself sensibly, and sleep seemed to curdle through all her limbs making the twisted staircase harder to ascend than it had been to go down.

Sulpicia wondered, hoped, vaguely if _he _would notice her absence, but concluded that he probably would and it would change nothing, for he wouldn't go seeking her out anymore, not like he used to…

She shook the thought away violently, and refusing to entertain it, though it crept through her mind just as intoxicating and numbing as the wine she'd been drinking all evening.

By the time Sulpicia reached her appointed room, she had to spend a few tedious minutes wrestling with the door before shoving all her weight into it impatiently. It swung open so forcefully that she almost toppled to the floor and it slammed shut so sharply behind her, the room shuddered. She laboured exasperatedly with the zip at the back of her dress before the flimsy material cascaded to the floor in a puddle of molten vanilla. A nightgown could probably have be found somewhere, discarded amidst the chaos of perfume, make-up and shoes but she was too tired to bother herself looking.

Instead she climbed into bed in her underwear and immersed herself in a nest of scratchy quilts and eiderdowns. For a while, time seemed to be cloudy and inconsistent; she lay drifting and listening to the thudding rhythm of rain pounding off rafters but after a while the pattern was disrupted by the telltale groaning of the floorboards outside her room.

Her lips twitched knowingly and she smirked to herself under the sheets. The lumbering, hesitant steps betrayed her little sister far too readily and even the door seamed to squeak apologetically as it creaked open, letting in a breath of cold air. Itchy blankets were pulled back, a draught exhaled briefly over her feet before being replaced by chilly shins. Cold skin and soft material caressed her skin - Bella had obviously been patient enough to root out her pyjamas before retiring to bed.

Patience was an admirable quality, but it wine had a way of shortening it - besides Sulpicia had never exactly been renowned for her patient nature.

"Are you awake?" drifted a tentative whisper, warm breath hissing in her ear. Sulpicia rolled her eyes at the inane sunflower-printed wallpaper and tossed over.

"I am now," she murmured, having no idea why they were keeping their voices lowered when three floors and two dozen rooms separated them from the rest of their adoring family.

"I can go…if you want…"

"You're hear now," sighed Sulpicia, feeling something tender and sticky cling to her.

She hadn't shared a bed with Bella in years, not since they were little children frightened by make-believe nightmares. Now all the little ones went to Bella with their nightmares and their terrors. Sulpicia had grown accustomed to sleeping alone.

"What's wrong Isabella?" asked Sulpicia inquisitively, wondering what dilemma could have prompted Bella's midnight excursion into her domain. She seemed to deliberate her words carefully, opening her mouth once or twice but then shutting it again to mull over her words more diligently before finally blurting out;

"You're not…what you said…I heard you talking to Frank…are you actually considering…?"

_Eavesdropping_? Bella? Sulpicia arched an eyebrow. She wasn't angry, in fact the worried look in Bella's eyes made her perversely happy . It was nice that some small fragment of childish adoration remained after the illusion of respectability had been so thoroughly shattered.

"_Uncle_ Frank," corrected Sulpicia, though the full title should have been, _Great-Uncle. _"And I'm not considering anymore. I've made up my mind. I'm leaving Forks."

Eyes the colour of melted chocolate, and in every single way identical to her own, widened and Sulpicia felt a twinge of satisfaction mingled with faint echoes of guilt. The rest of Bella's face remained immovable, though colour crept treacherously into her face and blossomed across the apples of her cheeks.

"_Oh_…" said Bella distantly, "When?"

"Not for a few months…Uncle Frank and Sofia…I mean _Aunt _Sofia…" Sulpicia hesitated, the new title tasting strange in her mouth. How could she call a woman old enough to be her sister Aunt? Or rather Great-Aunt for that matter?

"Anyway they'll be in Europe for some time. Uncle Frank wants to visit Aunt Miriam in Picardy and _Aunt _Sofia has relations living in Amsterdam."

"_Oh_…" murmured Bella, white teeth nibbling on her protruding lower lip, "I see. Have you…y'know…told Ren- I mean Mom?"

"I've told Dad," said Sulpicia carelessly, recalling the intensely awkward affair that conversation had been, full of uncomfortable pauses and difficult words, "He agrees with me. He thinks some time in Boston will do me good. Mom doesn't have to know yet, not until after Christmas."

"She won't like it," observed Bella solemnly, "You know what she was like when Teddy left."

"Teddy was sixteen," snapped Sulpicia, "She can't expect us all to live in Forks forever to suffer alongside her. She'll just have to live with it, she still has you, Fred and Peter to cuckold."

Bella flinched as though Sulpicia's words had slapped her around the face but she did not argue or make any moves to valiantly defend her - they both knew their feathered-brained mother far too well.

"I…I wish I could go with you…" admitted Isabella shyly.

Sulpicia smiled indulgently, touched by the sincere admission from a sister who normally chose to smother her own wishes with the demands of everyone else around her. Sweet little Bella, always the martyr, it was nice to know her lovely little sister was as human as the rest of them.

"You're almost fifteen," reminded Sulpicia, raising a finger to trace her sister's delicate nose and flushed cheeks, "A year and you'll be almost sixteen. The same age as Teddy when he moved to Boston…"

The unspoken proposition lay between them like a exquisitely fragile ornament both of them were to afraid to touch lest they sullied it or somehow shattered into a million splintered fragments. The idea, the dream seemed to pulsate through Sulpicia's mind like a living heartbeat and once it had made a home there, it was impossible to still.

"Are you…are you sure?" asked Bella longingly.

"I am," said Sulpicia, with something of her old certainty, "There's nothing for you here. And Boston is full of prospects. Uncle Frank wouldn't object, I'm sure, and I can't see Teddy complaining, can you?"

This produced a gentle chuckle from Bella and successfully reduced the syrupy mood back to a more comfortable ambience. Sulpicia wasn't good at articulating emotional declarations of undying affection and Bella was rubbish at hearing them, so in that way at least, they could accommodate one another.

"If you're sure…then yes…I think I'd like that too," confessed Bella sincerely, a small smile intruding upon her lips. Sulpicia nodded benevolently, teasing strands of her sister's auburn-tinted hair between her fingers, coiling them into curls and then watching them spring back to their original shape.

When sleep eventually came, Sulpicia embraced it uneasily, lulled by lilt of childish laughter and angelic visions of honey hair and blue-brown eyes.

* * *

**This particular story has been giving me a lot of bother, especially when I should be focusing my energies on more relevant things such as dissertations, etc, however I've finally surrendered to it. For those of slightly confused, this story is foremost about Sulpicia, and secondarily about Bella.**

** It's set in the late 30s/early 40s, and yes the historical context of the story does influence the plot. Since Sulpicia was turned vamp about two thousand years ago, this story is obviously AU and yes, it does still include vampires. Aro will eventually make an appearance but not for a while, since this story is not primarily about some epic love affair, but for now, more about family dynamics. **

**Love obviously features, but the whole vampire-love story doesn't happen for Sulpicia for a while; for now I'm focusing on her human life, and how the deicisons she and Bella make in their human lives will eventually shape their supernatural ones. This story will feature cannon characters as well as OC's I have thought up. There are plenty of twists and turns, and for every one chapter of Bella, there will be two for Sulpicia, since she is the main focus.  
**

**Rant over. I hope you enjoy. Feedback would also be much appreciated! **

**PS - those of you who used to read my fics 'Lavender and Lilac' and 'Violets and Roses' will notice they are now gone. This is mainly because I feel I've outgrown them a bit now, but I might resume them at a later date. If you're going to leave a review, please leave one concerning this fic and begging me to update them.  
**

**Thank you! :) 3  
**


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